It’s not often an Android device comes along that you think Apple could have designed. And while the HTC One M8 does show a few decisions that perhaps Cupertino’s designers wouldn’t have made, it also shows an incredible attention to detail, and a spirit of innovation in manufacturing that few companies have the boldness to show.

Unlike the iPhone 5s, the HTC One M8 has a curved back and super-slim edges, even though the device itself is longer, wider and thicker overall. But there’s good reason for that. Its display is 5-inches diagonally, and is flanked by two front facing speakers.

Both devices do share some similar features though. For instance, both have black plastic “gaps” at the top and bottom of the back panel that run around the edges. There’s good reason for this too, they need it for the external antenna to work. They also both share the pill-shaped dual LED flash for their respective cameras, and both are unibody designs (no removable back cover). Both feature the power/lock button in the same position, and both have their connectors and 3.5mm jacks on the bottom edge.

They both have their differences too. HTC went with a metal micro SD card tray, Apple doesn’t offer any expandable storage. M8 has volume rocker on the right edge, iPhone has two buttons on the left. One has brushed aluminum, the other is anodized.

All in all, both are fantastically designed product. And although I’m not a big fan of the HTC One’s massive gap between the display and the bottom edge (further enhanced by the on screen buttons), it’s a compromise worth making to get BoomSound.

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About Cam Bunton

Cam Bunton, Managing Editor. A film school graduate from the University of Cumbria, UK, Cam's past life was in mobile phone retail. His passion for cell phones got him in to that industry, and then in to this one. A family man with two kids, he somehow manages to balance his TiP duties with family life and a runaway Twitter addiction. He covers news, device comparisons, accessory and app reviews - pretty much anything and everything. Follow him on twitter: @TiP_Cam

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